eight years ago as a temporary effort, when when 10 foundations came together to fund a $135 million philanthropic initiative lasting up to six years. In 2014, most of the original funding organizations again anted up to enable the NEI to continue its work. Today, there are 12 organizations that have committed about $33 million to keep the NEI funded through 2017.
Lewis says fundraising to continue the NEI’s work through 2020 is also underway, with $13.5 million already secured from the Ford Foundation, the Knight Foundation, the McGregor Fund, and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.
Earlier this year, Lewis said in an interview with Xconomy that the NEI was focused on a more inclusive style of economic development work, and that mission is reflected in the reports, as well. Nearly 40 percent of all companies supported by the NEI since 2009 are minority-owned, which is double the national average.
“It’s a pretty good number compared to national percentages,” Lewis says. “The challenge now is how do we continue to get those companies market and capital access? How do we build on what’s been put in place? There’s been a whole shift, where the idea of who’s worthy of support has changed because of the philanthropic work in this space.”
Among the NEI’s strategic goals for the future: continue to promote the value of entrepreneurship to the public, provide enough funding and support for second-stage startups to stay in the region, and direct capital to startups led by underrepresented groups such as women and people of color.
“There’s also this notion around competition—NEI has always been an initiative that builds bridges between communities,” Lewis notes. (In fact, the NEI was a sponsor of Xconomy’s recent event series focusing on bridging the gaps between the startup ecosystems of Detroit and Ann Arbor.)
In the NEI’s next phase, Lewis says she’d like to see a competition or other formal event that builds the connection between local innovators and residents who have challenges that need to be solved. In addition, the NEI is planning to ramp up its storytelling efforts in order to get the word out to people in Michigan and elsewhere in the world that Detroit is undergoing a sea change.
“This is the city that defined the word ‘entrepreneur’ to the rest of the country,” Lewis says. “Detroit has had the kind of entrepreneurs whose innovations have led to new products, like the automobile, as well as new processes. It’s important to tell the story of what’s happening here so people can see how wealth is created, inspiring both hope and action.”
